


7 DEUDLY SINS

by Zoey (Sollux)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Homestuck AU, M/M, Multi, Seven Deadly Sins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1300360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sollux/pseuds/Zoey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an unexpected, doomed AU, everyone survived, and all made it to the meteor, hoping to project themselves into the Alpha Timeline and survive. However, instead they ended stuck wandering through dream bubble after dream bubble. A plan to create their own perfect dream to live in, forever, by their own hands, goes horribly wrong...</p>
<p>John Egbert by all appearances in a normal kid. Nothing great or miraculous about him. He and his sister, Jade, were raised by their single, loving father. However, and stray encounter with one of seven trolls infected with the curse of a societal flaw, puts John on Her Condescension's watch list. Now, he has packed up and arrived at an enormous mansion, the most secure place in their entire world, not because of the ones they want to keep out, but because of those who could reek havoc on society if they don't stay in...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Zoey is back in business!!!! ;D
> 
> Sorry, it's been so long since I've posted anything... However, I had a homestuck fandom relapse recently, and I really have needed to get my creative side out.
> 
> Actually, this idea is an old one of mine, so if you see it posted elsewhere, it's probably also me posting it (*coughgigapausecough*) Unless of course it's on Tumblr. I don't have a Tumblr, in case you were interested... 

"Rose, Vriska, are you two ready?"

"As prepared as we ever possibly could become."

"Karkat?"

"I still don't know if this will work with me not being god tier..."

"It should. Jade?"

"Ready John!"

"Terezi?"

"Same concerns as Karkles, but other than that, I'm totally ready!"

"Okay, here she comes! Get ready!"

Just as the barrier of the dream bubble reached them, powers sparked, orange, teal, red... And an unexpected flash of green and yellow joined in. A malefic laugh echoed in their quickly fading consciousness.

"You cannot enjoy yourselves in the möbius strip you've made for me. There is no escape."


	2. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now is where the story actually starts, with our favorite buck-toothed protagonist~

The huge house, if one could call it a house, rose up in front of John. He already knew the lay out: One front hallway, and seven huge rooms, with several other smaller ones scattered around and between them. All around was a huge field, filled with traps of all sorts, from bogs to land mines. One path led through the tall, cold gray walls lined on top with barb wire.

Two guards stand by the entrance to the yard, eyes trained to the building within. Whoever or whatever was in there was not coming out.

As John approached, one guard, a human boy around his age, a bit taller with blond hair and reflective glasses had him stopped at sword length in the blink of an eye. The other, a troll girl with the insignia of a rust blood, stood behind him, poised to become a second line of defense. From the way her eyes glowed, John knew she was a psionic.

"State your name," the boy ordered in a cool, monotone voice. "Entrance is prohibited with out a clearance pass."

"I'm John. John Egbert," he smiled, holding out a small object. A microchip. It's design and contents were so intricate, it was boasted to be impossible to recreate. In a blur, the guard had snatched it and placed it into a portable device. The screen flickered, then showed his identification. The screen blacked out, and the guards both stepped aside.

"Thanks, Dave!" John smiled as he walked quickly up to the house, leaving the blond boy puzzled as to how this stranger knew his first name. No where on his imperial uniform did it give anything but his rank and last name.

In the front door stood a troll of jade blood, wearing a rather pretty dark green dress for a servant of the house. She smiled as he came closer.

"You must be Mr. Egbert. Welcome," she cheerfully greeted.

"Ah, I'm just John. Mr. Egbert is my dad," he waved his hands in front of him awkwardly. Smiling, she stepped aside, ushering him in before closing the large wooden door behind them.

"I'm Kanaya Maryam. One of the head servants around here. Let me show you to your room." John barely heard her. The ceiling was a half cylinder window far above them, and in front of them was an even larger wooden double door than the one the just came in. Above it, the word "Pride" was ornately carved in the frame. It created the illusion of shrinking the size of the hallway, just how far across it truly was. As Kanaya started walking, John had to forcefully remove his eyes and scurry after her. Besides the window above, the only source of lighting was the occassional small lamp on the empty wall to the right, or between large and small doors to the left.

There were three doors the same size as the Pride door that he passed by. They were labeled Sloth, Lust, and Wrath. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking through such a wondrous hall, they reached the last small door. A gold name plate had been bolted to it, reading "Egbert" in beautiful, inlaid handwriting. Kanaya pushed open the door and offered him entry. The room was not as small as the door made it to be. The huge bed had beautiful blue bedding, almost too good to sleep on. The color matched his eyes, and complemented his blue imperial uniform. Boxes were scattered with his things that had arrived before him. Movie posters, his blanket, his husktop... Everything was there.

Walking over to one box, Kanaya watched him pick up one item. A framed picture of him with a fatherly looking man, a girl that had to be his sister just by looking at the resemblance, and a white dog. She couldn't see his face with his back to her, but she could imagine it was probably distorted with the pain of memories.

"John?" she asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned and beamed a huge smile, so convincing she almost wanted to smile as well. But her motherly instinct would not allow her. She knew inside he was hurting, and he was trying to hide it. Instead, she gave him a quick hug, then turned back to the door.

"If you need anything, just come find me. Any of the guards around here know about where I am during the day," she said on her way out. A glimpse of her dress was all John saw when he turned around to thank her.

~~~

It was near sundown now. He had put up many of his posters in various places around the room, set up his husktop on the desk in the corner, set the photo on his nightstand, and tossed his blanket on his bed. His eyes were heavy, tired from a long day of hitch hiking and walking in the bright sun. Almost as soon as he hit his head to his pillow, he was fast asleep, hugging his ghostly blanket.


	3. Things that go Thump in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet you're first of the Seven~ Fairly short chapter, but it's building up still.

John awoke not much later to a creaking outside his door. Someone was walking by. There was thumping, like footsteps, at first slow, then fast, as they faded away.

Now wide awake, he stood up and quietly went to his door. Opening it a portion, he peered out into the hall. There was a small flash of light a good distance away, but it disappeared almost as soon as he saw it.

Withdrawing, he had barely reached his bed before he heard alarms outside the house. Quickly returning to the door, there was a little bit of stirring in the hall by some guards. A few seconds later, the alarm stopped. The house seemed to let out a sigh.

The light reappeared, and a loud voice echoed loudly around the hall. It was hard to understand from such a distance, but it obviously was quite upset.

"Quiet, you! There are people trying to sleep!" the voice of the female guard from the entrance rang out, cutting him off. The tone was much sharper than anything he had thought her capable of.

There was sounds of scuffling, growing louder as they came toward him. Taking one step out of the room, there was enough dim light to make out three figures: the two guards from before, dragging a uncooperative male troll. He was resisting their rough treatment and trying to escape by digging in sharp teeth to whatever piece of them he could reach.

"Agh, that one hurt, you piece of shit!" Dave's voice rang out. There was a loud crack, and the trolls head flew to one side, hair wild around two little nubby horns. The hand mark on the side of his face was visible in the candle light, looking bright red.

The huge door nearest his was opened, and the beaten troll thrown in forcefully. However, right before he was thrown in, he looked up and caught John's eye. His eyes questioned the new human, who was staring with a mouth slightly agape and buck teeth sticking out slightly. But the lock ended quickly as the troll stumbled forward, and the two guards entered the room briefly, before reappearing and walking slowly back to their post, murmuring to each other in low tones.

Seeing the action was over, John slowly and quietly closed his own door, then tip toed back to bed. When he fell asleep, he dreamed of a memory nearly forgotten with age of a past life, a past naïvety left behind in passing years.


	4. Old Memories and Test 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really, most of this will be hinting at things, and giving some background. This may be one of the few times I explain anything outright. ;3

In the morning, a knock on the door woke John up, and was followed by a vaguely familiar voice announcing breakfast. Sitting up, he jumped out of bed and changed quickly into a blue uniform he had been given before he left home.

Jumping around and nearly tripping as he attempted to put his shoes on while simultaneously making his way to the door, he caught his balance, straightened up, and opened the door to find a girl of about his age in a pinkish lavender uniform, with blonde hair that reminded him of someone else.

"Ah! You're related to Dave!" he declared suddenly, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Indeed. We happen to be siblings. I am Rose. Please follow me, we will proceed to breakfast." Without waiting for a response, she turned and started walking away, the long tie on her dress trailing after her so John had to watch where he was stepping as he walked not to undo her bow.

"Here, the breakfast hall." When she stopped in front of the door, he had become so focussed on his feet that he ran head first into her. Rose didn't seem to notice or care. Opening the door, she ushered him inside.

It was one of the smaller doors, located between Greed and Pride. Inside was a long table, with two trolls sitting and eating some kind of meat. One wore a orange-brown uniform, the other a royal blue one with beat up dark glasses. Rose offered him a seat quite a few chairs away from them, and in a moment brought over some still steaming pancakes. He was given butter and grub sauce, no syrup. Not wanting to think of the pictures of how they made such a sauce he had seen in school, he quickly grabbed the butter and focussed on spreading a thin layer over the top cake. Rose had disappeared, and the only noise was steal on ceramic plates and the hushed talking of the trolls.

Feeling awkward and the center of attention by the way the brown blood kept glancing and the suspicious slight head turn of the blue blood, he ate quickly and then stood up, leaving his plates and walking back in the direction of his room. He passed Kanaya on the way to his destination, who stopped him before he could pass.

"Ah, John! I hope you liked your breakfast. We have to make due, as you can guess, with budget cuts and all. Just look at the size of our staff now... And Feferi is always in and out..." she trailed off, muttering to herself.

"Don't worry, it was terrific!" John told her, and was about to keep walking when he'd head perked up like she remembered something.

"Oh! I meant to say, don't get too caught up in anything. Rose and I are about to go take up post for Dave and Aradia so they can come and start on their orders." Satisfied her message was delivered, she continued on to her prior destination.

Before he reached his room, John stopped outside the large doors to the room of Wrath. Sucking a big breath, he stepped up to the handle and gently pulled it open. It swung back noiselessly just enough for a small person like himself to squeeze through. Stepping inside, he closed it behind him, causing a loud click to echo around the tall room. The light all came from a sky light far above, and showed a strange scene. A pile of ripped up, shredded, and beaten carcasses of stuffed animals of any and all kinds was shoved to one side of the cylindrical room. On the other side was a lump, on further inspection actually a troll sitting facing away from the door.

"Dammit, Equius! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not going to eat!" The loud, gruff voice echoed mildly around the room.

"I'm not quite Equius," John announces happily. The bundle grew tense.

"You... The human from last night?" the voice was irritated still. "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought they were cutting staff, not adding."

"Hmm, depends on your definition of staff." Taking a few steps closer to the troll, he stepped over rogue, unstuffed corpses.

"Stop messing around and just tell me why your here, beat me up, what ever your here to do!"

John ignored the demand and instead came up right next to the troll, who had braced for an impact from any side. Instead of kicking or shoving the troll, he squatted next to him. "C'mon Karkat, don't you remember me? I thought that day was pretty memorable~"

The troll glanced at John, and suddenly went wide eyed. He did remember. That day he was much younger...

_They were in a market place, a mainly troll one. He had stood in the middle of a brawl, furiously trying to fight his way out. Suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist and weakly tugged at him. It was enough to throw him off balance though, and he stumbled between a small gap in the older trolls. As soon as he was through, he lost his footing completely, tumbling into his rescuer._

_When he opened his eyes (he had hardly realized he closed them) he was stating down at a human boy about his own age, with buck teeth and glasses that had nearly fallen off. And he was... Laughing? Nobody had ever laughed around him. There were only glares, shouts, and fighting. He knew what laughing was, and what it should sound like, but actually hearing it was odd._

_"I didn't think I'd actually be able to get you out of there!" the human, blinking his vivid blue eyes. Furiously, Karkat scrambled to get off the boy, angry at... Well, everything. The world, his Lusus, and this kid for suddenly stepping into the life he had and confusing everything. But it wasn't like how he usually got angry at something. This boy was... Different. Almost like his anger was more... Real? It seemed to be the only fitting word._

_As the boy stood up and fixed his glasses, some adult yelled at them._

_"Hey, you pests! Get the hell outa here!" The boy glanced in the direction of the voice, then suddenly snatched Karkat's wrist and started running. The young troll had yelled his protest, but the dumb human just laughed and ignored him. They didn't slow down until they were out of the shopping center, actually not far from Karkat's own hive. Nobody else was around that they could see. The troll stopped and wrenched his arm from the kid's grasp._

_"What... the HELL?!" he asked between deep breathes._

_"You... looked like... you could use a bit... of help." The human was more out of breath than he was, wheezing slightly with each gulp of air._

_It was true. Back in that mosh pit, he thought he was going to die. No more wriggling days, no more enraged Lusus, no more sopor, no more anything. Sadly enough, he was almost welcome to the thought. Studying the kid, he was at a loss for words. Should he thank him? Scream? Storm off?_

_"By the way... My name is... John~" he took his hands off his knees and stood up straight, offering a hand to shake. Karkat reluctantly took it, letting his own hand shake limply at the other's motion._

_"...Karkat" he grumbled. The human appeared surprised, but a small smile crept to his lips._

_"What was that?" he pushed._

_"I said my name is Karkat, are you deaf?!" he shouted, annoyed._

_"Okay, Karkat! You're my new friend, then!"_

_"Your what?"_

_"Friend~" John drew out the word. Shocked, and enraged at the audacity of this boy, Karkat stumbled back, once again left with no words. John burst into giggles as the troll held up one arm defensively. His eye caught something, and he stopped suddenly. "Hey, your arm bruised! Your blood-"_

_"Sh-shut up!" Karkat quickly hid his arm behind his back, swearing softly to himself._

_"I was just going to say it looks like mine, but okay~" Gog, this kid just needed to shut his mouth. And this damn topic needed desperate changing._

_"W-what the hell were you doing in a troll market, anyway?" he stumbled out the first thing that came to mind. John seemed to remember something, and quickly reached into the a bag Karlat hadn't really noticed before. He pulled out something small, white, and fluffy._

_"You alright there, puppy?" the bundle took the shape of a small dog and gave a tiny yip._

_"What is that thing doing in your bag?!" Karkat hissed. He'd never been one for beasts of any type, unless they were butchered and ready to eat._

_"I came to the troll market to get my sister a birthday present! Trolls have nicer stuff, even if it is a bit expensive. I found this guy instead, though, 'cause some one was yelling at him for trying to get off with a bit of musclebeast. I figure my sister will love him!" John snuggled the puppy up to his face, then held it out to Karkat, putting it very. Very. Close. To his face. The thing yipped and he stumbled backwards, falling on his butt._

_"Get that thing away from me!" he demanded, and John put it back in his bag. Checking his wristwatch, the boy's eyes grew huge behind his glasses._

_"Oh NO! I have to be home in five minutes! See you, Karkat!" he took off running back the way they came from._

_However, he was only a few paces away when someone snatched Karkat up by the back of his shirt. Unable to see his captor, he screamed curses and thrashed, just trying to make contact or at least turn around. John heard the commotion and stopped to see what the fuss was._

_"Stupid little runt!" A gruff voice said from behind him. "You make a lot of trouble. Good thing we caught you early!"_

_"Hey! What are you doing with my friend?!" John demanded._

_"Scram, human! You don't belong in this part of town!"_

_"Not until you tell me what you're going to do to him!"_

_"You want the truth?" John nodded his head furiously._

_"I'm going to knock 'im around a bit before I throw him in a big room and lock 'im up for the rest of his pathetic life." Karkat squirmed more, but he was getting tired. John just stood in shock._

_"Get out of here, fuckass!" Karkat yelled. "Get your sister that fucking present!" John reluctantly complied, and ran off._

_The rest of the day had been one of the worst in his life. He'd been here so long, he'd almost forgotten that day. Heck, it was a miracle he could remember that day, considering he'd already even forgotten what his Lusus looked like..._

~~~

"J-John?!" Karkat recalled the name.

"I knew you'd remember!" The bucktoothed grin expanded.

"How the fuck did you get in here?!"

"With an invitation~" John replied simply. Before Karkat could inquire more, there was a knock on the door.

"Egbert, you in there?" It was Dave. Assumedly Aradia was with him as well.

"Yes sir! I'll be right out!" John called back, standing up.

"Wait! If you're not a staff than what exactly are you doing here?!" Karkat demanded. Dave's voice irritated him, especially when it interrupted his conversations. Which wasn't often considering he rarely ever actually had someone to converse with.

"Oh, you know~" John smiled at him, shrugging, then quickly turned and walked back across the room to the door, sliding out quickly, ignoring the protests of the troll behind him.

Outside the door, Dave was standing there casually, and Aradia smiled as John stepped out.

"Well, I guess test one was a success," Dave noted, typing something onto the device he had used yesterday to read John's file.

"Test one?" John inquired, trying to sneak a peak at the device. Dave put it away before John could see anything.

"Our first assignment is to take you through the rooms and see if you react to any of the others. Obviously, you don't react to Wrath, which was what our first goal was," Aradia explained. John nodded.

That's the reason he was here. Because he was special. Somehow, the imperial forces had discovered that his short first encounter with Karkat didn't create that inexplicable rage that Wrath left with any human or troll. And so he became a guinea pig. If he was immune to Wrath, what about the other Sins?

"Time for test two. Let's get this one over with quickly." Dave huffed.

***Zoey's Guide to the Sins!***

The Sins. That was there short name. Seven Deadly Sins if you want the full name. These were seven trolls that appeared every so often that embodied a piece of the true nature of society. Wrath, Lust, Sloth, Pride, Greed, Gluttony, and Envy.

These trolls not only are perpetually plagued with these feelings, but radiate some sort of energy that effects all around them.

The House of Sins was made long ago to harbor these trolls and keep them away from society. Leaving them out in the world would cause mass chaos and uncontrollable wars. No one has discovered how the trolls are selected to become the next Sin, because blood tests show no common ancestry to previous Sins.

Until John came along, there were no incidents of immunity to any of the sins, except between sins. That is to say, if you stuck all seven sins in a room, they'd still act just like usual, with no effect on each other. There was an idea of slowly building an immunity, but it was found that frequent exposure to a Sin only had side effects of sudden flashes where the Sin is not around, but the one who was exposed acts as if they were.

With the empresses recent expansion goals, a lot of funding and troops have been taken from the House of Sins. Now only a few trolls and trustworthy humans remain. The heir to the throne is rumored to visit every so often.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so originally that piece at the end was it's own chapter, but it's just... so short... and just explanation... I figured I'd throw it here. (Not to mention, it makes my chapter numbers here match up with my prewritten ones. I kind of wish this site let you designate a prologue...)


	5. Test 2 and Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit's getting real... O_o I'm... I'm so sorry John... I swear I don't hate you... A certain someone by the title of Lust is a different story. =_=

"We'll just work our way down the line. Best scenario, we get done with Pride have lunch, get to Envy today, and we all enjoy what may be left of the day." Dave explained from the head of their little line. John was in between him and Aradia, and was feeling a bit like he was being royally escorted.

"And worst case?" John asked cautiously.

"Worst case-" Dave started.

"Let's not go there," Aradia cut in quickly.

"But if he wants to know-" Dave protested as they stopped in front of the door of Lust.

"He can go with out." Aradia remained adamant.

"I-it's okay Dave! I don't need to know!" John piped in. Dave glanced at John from behind his glasses and shrugged.

"Anyway, here's what you need to do," Aradia started. Now it was Dave's turn to butt in.

"Unlock that door with this, step inside, see if you feel anything, then haul ass out of there." He handed John a key to the large padlock hanging through the door handles.

"Why didn't Karkat's room have one of these?" John asked, studying the key.

"Truth? Some idiot lost it, just as budget cuts started." Dave took a few steps away from the door. John looked over to see Aradia do the same.

"Are they that strong?" John hesitated, the key hovering by the lock.

"In a way. You'll see." Aradia put her hand over her mouth and nose as she answered. Dave did the same. John put the key into the lock, turning it slowly. Dramatically. Cautiously he removed the lock...

"This isn't a freaking movie, Egbert, hurry up," Dave demanded. Put down, John removed the lock quickly and stuck the keys in his pocket, opening the door just enough to slide inside.

The first thing he noticed was the overwhelming smell. It was ridiculously sweet, with a very faint hint of something like an ocean breeze. He stumbled a bit at the sudden force of it and gave a small cough. His vision was just adjusting to the dim lighting when he heard a creak, and turned to see the door had shut behind him. Suddenly, someone wrenched the huge padlock from his hand.

"Hey!" he protested. He turned to face his attacker when a loud click echoed through the room. The lock was fastened to the door from the inside, now. Before he could move his hand to his pocket, his attacker grabbed him by the wrists and forced his hands up above him, backing him up to the door.

"Gah! D-Dave!!" It was the first thing John could think to do. Not that yelling for Dave's help could really do anything if the guard was locked out.

"Hmm, it's not often I get one that's afraid of me~" his attacker noted in the raspy accent of a sea dweller. "Do you struggle, too?" In the candle light of the room, he could make out large glasses, facial fins, and lightning shaped horns. The tufty hair had a large streak of purple down the middle.

The door shook behind him as Dave tried to open it. "Dammit, Egbert! It's locked!" the muffled voice shouted from the other side.

His captor's hands brought his wrists together, trapping them now with one hand to free the other. "You're really not a bad specimen~" The free hand traced it's way down John's arm, to his face. The cold fingers sent a chill down his spine. When John began furiously trying to pull his arms free, the sea dweller giggled with delight. As the fingers found John's chin, they clamped down, tilting his head back. As the troll leaned in for the kiss, John moved to his last option. Pulling one knee up, he slammed it straight into the troll's gut.

Either the troll was a wimp, or somehow he had put some power behind the knee, because the toll released his grip and took a step back, coughing. Working fast, John's hand flew to his pocket, grabbing the key and stuffing it into the lock.

He was barely pulling it off the door when arms latched around his waist and pulled him away.

"Dave, it's unlocked! But I- mmgf!" John's yell was cut off when a hand clamped over his mouth. By the time the door flung open, he was halfway across the room.

"Can you hold your breath long enough to take him, Strider~? Why don't you come in and try?" the troll taunted. There was a hesitation, then the door slammed shut.

John's struggles at the hand over his mouth faltered. He had been... just left here. Didn't Dave have that amazing speed on his side? Was this distance really that big of an issue? He felt like a kicked puppy, or a defective toy. They reached a huge bed surrounded by candles at all stages of burning.

"You were abandoned, huh? He didn't even try." The words were so whispered so close to John's ear, he could feel the air faintly rustle his hair. Weakly trying to remove the hand again, it came away this time, but he could barely celebrate the victory before he was flung into the bed. The troll was on top of him instantly, pinning down his limbs.

"It's okay, though. I'll make it better." He could taste the saltiness of the trolls breath, the face was so close to his.

"N-no..." John whimpered. "Please, no..."

"Ugh, you still smell as disgusting as ever, Ampora," a familiar shouty voice came from across the room.

"Hey, Vantas, have you met my new- oomph!" Lust had risen to his knees in order to see Karkat, leaving John free to grab one of the enormous pillows and whack him clear across the head. As the sea dweller tumbled off him, he made a dash for the door.

He was almost there when a growl came from behind him. "I'm not FIN-ished yet!" A hand grabbed John's wrist.

"Like hell you're not!" Karkat's voice was close. There was gasp, and the hand released him finally. Panicked and poor eyes not that suited for the dark, he didn't even stop to try to find Karkat in the dark, instead stumbling and sprinting his way back to the door. Footsteps came up behind him, and John did his best to move even faster. Finally, he reached the fallen padlock, scooping in up on the move and bursting through the doors into the hallway, Karkat hot on his heals. Dave slammed the doors shut after the two of them, and John, hands shaking, tried a few times to put the lock through the handles, succeeding on the third try, shoving it together with a satisfying click.

Still gasping for air, John leaned against the door to catch his breath. Dave was still holding the doors, looking rather tense. "Th-thanks Dave... Karkat..."

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING IN THERE DUMBA-" Karkat began to demand, when suddenly Dave was in the way, standing rather closer than John cared to have anyone stand to him right now. The white-blonde head fell on his shoulder, dark glasses pressing awkwardly into John's neck.

"D-Dave?" John inquired, suddenly quite concerned. Did he really cause his friend this much panic? They had only just met... right? "A-are you alright?"

"I..." Dave's voice was low, confused sounding. Just a suddenly as Dave always seemed to move, John's tie was in his hand, pulling their faces closer.

"GET THE FUCK OFF!" Karkat broke in, sliding in the small space between the two, throwing Dave away with considerable force. Dave flew half way across the hallway, to be caught under the arms by Aradia.

"What the hell, Vantas?!" He raged, trying to pull away from Aradia, who held him in place.

"John, you stink like _it_. Go get a shower and I would suggest burning those clothes if the stench doesn't come out," Karkat growled. Cowering behind the troll until now, John nodded and scampered off to his room, briefly shooting Dave an apologetic look. "Hey!" Karkat shouted to John just as he opened the door to his room. The human stopped and looked back carefully. "Don't think this gets you out of explaining what the fuck is going on here!" With a short nod, he disappeared.

~~~

Dave had grown quiet and still. Karkat shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the human, who was supposedly so great at keeping his cool composure around everyone else. This was the effect the Seven had on humans. Even the alleged coolest of all human kids couldn't keep a level head.

John's terrified look haunted the two men standing there. While Karkat knew that he and Eridan were very different, and he knew that the look was for the sea dweller, but... Was he really that different from such a monster? It's what the seven of them were: monsters. Maybe he wasn't there yet, but he knew that was his future. Sure, the kid could smile at him now, act like they were old time chums, but one day he knew that he would earn that same look.

Dave's head buzzed with unclear thoughts, clouded over still by that lingering, sickening sweet smell that had clung to John, and by the presence of the troll still standing in front of him. It was... frustrating. Infuriating even. The only thought that he could make out was John's terrified eyes, their faces inches apart. No, he had never wanted that. It sickened him inside, but it wouldn't leave him. Anger building, he finally touched Aradia's hand lightly, letting her know she could let him go. Carefully, her hands fell away. "Get back to your room..." Dave growled, just loud enough for Karkat to hear him with those damn sensitive, pointy troll ears.

"What was that? I sure as hell hope that was a 'thank you'!" Karkat crossed his arms across his chest, looking pointedly at the guard.

"I SAID GET THE FUCK BACK TO YOUR ROOM!" Dave lost it, pointing like an angry mother in the direction of the large doors labeled Wrath. Amazingly, without any more audible protest, Karkat slinked back to his room, withdrawing with a loud slam.

Head finally cleared a bit, Dave rubbed the inner corners of his eyes with his thumb and fore finger. "Aradia, I'm taking the rest of the day off. If John shows up again tell him we'll continue tomorrow." Without waiting for a response, he walked off back to his own room.


	6. The Electrician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... heads up about the last chapter: Eridan is basically the only reason I set the Rape warning. I don't expect to ever go into details if something like that springs out of my mind, but I wouldn't put such things past the embodiment of Lust.
> 
> Anyway, onto this chapter!  
> Basically, just some foreshadowing here. And a bit of relationship development with John and Karkles~ ;3

John sat, curled up on his bed, pillow pressed between his lower back and the head board. Staring forward at the black wall, his family picture sat between his feet, idly dropped there by his hand as his thoughts had drifted away from it.

What had just happened? He mentally knew what he was getting into when he decided come. Obviously, there were risks. Seriously, they were a bunch of trolls who couldn’t control a tendency toward an extreme version of a societal flaw. What was he suppose to expect, rainbows and sunshine? Yet nothing he had imagined could have prepared him for that. Even after a long, scalding hot shower, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling of the cold, damp hand on his wrist, the lingering smell of salt water, or the feel of the troll’s breath on his face.

And not to mention… After all that… The image of Dave’s face so close that John could see the red eyes hidden behind the dark glasses made him grab the pillow from behind him and bury his face in it. Why did his face feel warm every time he thought about it? Seriously, they had only just met, and while the aggressiveness had been no less than the troll’s, it was a completely different feeling. Maybe it was because Dave was a human? Yeah, that had to be it.

Resting the pillow on his knees and supporting his chin on that, he resumed his wall staring, if not for long before there was a knock on his door. Laying his face sideways to look at the door, he thought about answering it for a few seconds, before plastering his usual smile on and calling in a cheery voice “Come in~!”

“John?” Aradia poked her head in. “You finished your shower already?”

“Yep! I think I burned off the smell. Now hopefully my uniform will come out of the washer clean,” he assured brightly. Although, he would enjoy walking around in his t-shirt and shorts for a while if he did have to burn the suit and wait for a new one to arrive.

“Oh, good. I thought I should let you know that we’re adjusting the schedule. You don’t have to do anymore tests today, but tomorrow you’ll have to do at least two. Neither of tomorrows should be anything near as bad as Lust,” she explained, a bit stiffly. “On a brighter note, at least we know it’s not just Wrath you’re immune to!” Aradia perked up significantly to that. “It’s quite the discovery! I bet it will be the same with the rest!”

“Y-yeah! I guess that is good news!” John swung his legs around off the bed, keeping the pillow on his lap to rest his elbows on, and hold his chin up with his hands. “Maybe I’ll actually be really helpful…” his voice drifted off wistfully. “Oh! Hey Aradia! Why don’t you ever call the Seven by their actual names? Like, Karkat instead of Wrath? I mean, I think I heard Dave use his name, but it seems kind of cold to just call them by their title.”

“Well, it’s not really a good idea to pity them, I’ve noticed. And if you call them by their names, it just makes that even harder. It also is a reminder how dangerous they can be,” she replied thoughtfully.

“So… what is Lust’s real name? I mean, if you know!” he sat up and waved his hands innocently.

“It’s no problem! His name is Eridan Ampora. Apparently he was actually supposed to be the future Empress’s moirail, and maybe even a little deeper red!”

“Woah! That’s a bit odd! Is that why she visits?” John leaned forward, enticed by the juicy piece of gossip.

“Well… Kind of. You can find out for yourself when you meet her. I’m sure she’ll be here while you’re still running tests,” Aradia smiled. “She’s really quite nice by human standards. I’m sure you’ll like her.”

“Hm… Oh, one last thing! Is it okay if I go visit Karkat? I mean, I know I’m not suppose to do anything more today, but I feel like he was kind of mad at me when I last saw him…”

“I guess. I have no problem with it. But be careful if he’s moody. While you may know him as one of the saner ones around here, he can get just as bad as others at times. If he snaps, you should get out of there. I don’t doubt Dave would run in and save you, but…” she trailed off, letting John finish it for her. Honestly, he didn’t really want to face Dave right now. He wasn’t sure how he would handle it.

“Okay, thanks Aradia.”

“No problem.”

As she left, John stood up and replaced his pillow and carefully put the picture back in its proper place. Looking at it for a second, he smiled fondly and left his room after the troll girl, who had already disappeared from the hallway, which was now still.

Carefully, John opened Karkat’s door. “Kark-“ John cut off when he saw the state of the room. The destroyed plushies had been kicked around since he had last been here, many lay even more mangled, and large scratch marks had appeared on the wall. In the middle of the chaos sat the same lump that had before been against the other edge of the room, facing away from the door. Grey fingers wove through the messy black hair, holding the head closer to the knees as he squatted there, staring at the ground. John could imagine his eyes were screwed shut, and he was wishing away the chaos around him. When the door clicked shut again, the head whipped up, and Karkat whirled to face John, taking a step away like an animal ready to take flight, facing an opponent much more dangerous than itself, though that was a bit backwards considering Karkat could probably easily beat John in any fight.

Seeing the feral look in Karkat’s eyes, though, John took a small step back, raising his chin up and swallowing hard, still maintaining his smile. Was this what Aradia was talking about? Should he run? However, Karkat simply let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, between his horns.

“Oh, it’s you. Thought they had sent in Dave or Equius…” Karkat explained angrily. Seeing all was safe, John released the death grip he had on the door handle behind his back and came further in the room.

“Nope! Boring old me~” he giggled. Karkat just glared back.

“I’d hardly call you boring. Now care to explain why the fuck Dave came running in earlier asking me to save your ass from Ampora’s room?” he plopped down on the floor, crossed his legs and rested his chin on his fist. John followed suit but instead just crossed his ankles and hugged his knees together.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story…” John tried to dodge.

“I’ve got all the time in the fucking world. Get started,” Karkat ordered. Clearly not getting out of it, John sighed.

“Well, it basically started when I met you. I guess the guy that came to get you was really surprised when I wasn’t looking for a fight and that I could call you a friend. I mean, we humans don’t even have kismesis, so it’s even more weird!”

“Yeah yeah, so you’re weird. Get to the point faster,” Karkat interrupted.

“Shoosh! I’ll get there! This is important!” John retorted, impersonating Karkat’s grumpy face. “As I was saying, the troll thought I was SUPER weird! So apparently he told someone, and word got to higher ups. And they all thought I was super weird too. That’s when they decided they wanted me to come here. They figured a guy like me who isn’t affected by the effects of the child of Wrath could be useful with handling you. But they really wanted to see if I also felt the effects of the other six! So they just wanted me to go in to Eridan’s room for a second, see if I felt all Lust-ish or anything, and then leave. But the next thing I know, Eridan is right there and grabs the lock from my hand and sticks it on the door! So then I freak out, and manage to get away enough to get the lock open again, but then he starts dragging me in really fast, so by the time Dave busts in, apparently we were far enough in that Dave would have to worry about breathing, though seriously! He so fast I bet he could have made it! But anyway, Eridan got me all where he wanted and then BOOM! There you were, saving my ass~” John finished with his animated story and smiled proudly, while Karkat’s eye twitch.

“Wow, that wasn’t long at all,” the troll finally commented.

“I condensed it. The long version is kind of boring and a lot more complicated.”

“Complicated with things I should know?”

“Nah, more emotional stuff. I bet you probably don’t want to hear all about how I had to tell my family good bye and how much my dad and sister freak out and all,” he laughed.

“Ugh, no, leave out the human family mush,” Karkat stuck out his tongue, disgusted by the thought, and satisfied by the answer.

“So… uh, was it that bad saving me?” John nodded toward a fresh scratch along the wall. Karkat’s face darkened.

“N-no. It wasn’t that. Dave just… has a way of pushing my buttons. I got frustrated, and let it out. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine,” Karkat answered, not giving John enough time to respond, and looking away pointedly, indicating he didn’t want the subject pursued.

“Okay then…” John just sat there, looking around the room. Suddenly, the light above them flickered. Wait, that couldn’t be right. Wasn’t above them a sky light? Looking up, the sky above flickered from the image to black, like a flickering computer screen. “Wha-“

“Shit! Of all times for him to wake up!” Karkat swored, standing up and looking up.

“Wait, I thought that was a window up there!” John looked up from the floor, confused.

“Of course not, didn’t you notice Eridan’s room was set to night earlier? Jegus, John…Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now! Fuck fuck fuck… You said they’re having you go into all the rooms, right? How long are they spreading it out?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I figure we’ll probably do as many as I can handle in a day…” John watched Karkat start to pace, irritated, back and forth, as the light continued to flicker.

“So there’s no way Nepeta will hold you up… her and Gamzee in one day at least…Worst case scenario you’re dumb in Vriska’s room… Terezi couldn’t hurt a flee… Shit, that’s two days at most, there’s no way they’ll get her here by then…”

“Who?” John asked, worried now by Karkat’s nervous movement.

“The only one that can calm him down. Fuck, and that bastard never learns, there’s no way either of those two will listen to reason…”

“Karkat!” John whined, trying to get his friend’s attention.

“And he knows you’re here, and I bet he already knows what’s happening. There’s no way…”

“KARKAT!” John finally shouted, breaking Karkat’s thoughts and making the troll look at him as he stood. “Would you please tell me what is freaking you out? Why is the ceiling flickering?”

“The electrician woke up. And he’s never happy to see anyone get any special attention…” Karkat explained cryptically. “I think you better get out before he blows up my ceiling!” Without any more conversation, he pushed John toward the door and threw him out, watching as the ceiling flickered between red and blue a few times before returning to the daylight.


	7. Test 3 and Equius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not much eventful here, but a bit of Equius-Nepeta~ ;3 I find this ship kind of like RoseMary. How can you not find it perfect? (Don't answer that, I already know).

After spending the rest of the day rather bored, sitting around trying to watch some of his favorite movies (which really weren’t that great without his father there to enjoy them with), and only coming out for lunch and dinner, John finally fell asleep early in the afternoon.

Unlike the night before, his dreams were haunted with flashing lights and some huge, scary troll with wire cutters and electrical tape chasing him around. When he woke up after that, it was only midnight. He never did fully fall asleep again, always waking up quickly from a new nightmare. A sea troll trying to drown him in awful smelling liquid, Dave and… well, that scene from earlier… It seemed like he woke up every hour or less after that. Finally, at about 5 in the morning, he gave up sleeping entirely, tossing and turning and not being able to shut his eyes for fear of what was behind them.  
Showering off the cold sweat and putting on his (unfortunately) smell free uniform suit, he took his time and left his room at about six. Rose was on a ladder, held steady by Kanaya, looking like she was probably replacing a bulb in one of the light fixtures along the hallway. It was a good thing her dress was so long, or Kanaya would have been looking up it. As he approached, the light flickered to life, and Rose climbed down from above. Looking over, she noticed him and smiled pleasantly.

“Oh, John, you are awake rather early!” she greeted cheerily, Kanaya came up and stood next to her, looking a bit worried about something. Something on Rose’s arm caught John’s eyes: a splotch of red. 

“Rose! Are you bleeding?!” he gaped. Immediately, she grabbed the place on her arm with her other hand.

“Oh, yes, sorry about that. One of the bulbs blew as I walked by it. It’s honestly only a small cut, and Kanaya was just about to bandage it for me.” In confirmation, the troll nodded.

“Hm… Well okay then. Would this-“ John cut himself off, biting his lip with his buck teeth.

“Would this what?” Rose asked curiously, urging him to finish the question. Kanaya stiffened slightly.

“This wouldn’t have to do with the Electrician?” John asked cautiously. Kanaya’s eyes narrowed.

“How do you know about him already?” she asked, clearly alarmed.

“I-I really don’t know much. Just that Karkat’s ceiling started flickering yesterday, and he said it was because the Electrician woke up.”

“Well that is true. Kanaya, don’t be such a worry wart. He’s going to find out soon, anyway,” Rose stepped in. “John, what you need to know is that you shouldn’t talk about the electrician, which is lower case “e” by the way, it’s not his title or anything.”

“Oh…” he wondered for a moment how she could tell he was thinking of an upper case “e” for a second before dismissing it and smiling. “I suppose I can do that. I will find out, though, right?”

“Oh, for certain in time,” Rose waved a hand in front of her face, dismissing the air of doubt. “I hope for your sake our special guest will arrive before you have to meet him, though. Now, would you like breakfast? I haven’t prepared it yet, but I can make some for you now, if you’d like.”

Noting the blatant subject change, John followed her to the kitchen, leaving Kanaya to pick up and put away the ladder.

When the food was set out, the two trolls from the other day came into the dining area as well, once again sitting at the other end of the table. The one in the blue uniform, not too far off from the same shade of blue as John’s, seemed to start sweating at the sight of the human. The orange one rolled in a wheel chair, which John hadn’t notice before.

Not feeling very hungry, most of the time John spent at the table was used to stir around the pancakes in the pool of melted butter, not really trying to accomplish anything but making them soggy and nearly inedible with the amount of butter. The trolls finished before him, and each took a tray of three dishes of food out with him. Finishing not long after they left, John gave his plate to Rose, who looked curiously at the half eaten pancakes, but didn’t question.

Outside the doors, he looked around for Dave and Aradia, who were just coming into the house. Nervous about facing Dave again, he instead once again plastered on his smiled and quickly skipped over to them.

“Hey guys!” The greeting was met with a smile and a cool nod.

“Ready for Sloth? Don’t worry too much about her, we don’t even lock her door. Damn troll is too lazy to even get out of bed…” Dave reassured, clearly acting as if the day before never happened, which John took thankfully.

“Okay, if you say so~” With that, the group traveled over to the door labeled Sloth. As they arrived, the sweaty troll with the blue uniform arrived with one last plate of food on his tray.

“Morning, Zahhak,” Dave nodded curtly. “Care to take John in with you?” The poor guy broke out in sweat again, which was actually kind of gross in John’s opinion.

“I-is that an order, sir?” Equius inquired, tray threatening to snap in his (now shaking) large hands.

“Yeah, you could say that. Just fucking take John in, okay?”

“Y-yes sir!” Equius opened the door and allowed John entrance first. Inside was dimly lit, but not completely dark. Overhead, the sky looked like a really cloudy day. In the center of the rather plain room was a large sopor pod, in which he saw the messy, slimy head of a troll girl poking out of it. "Nepeta, your food is ready. You will eat today." John stood just in the entrance, wondering why Equius wasn't looking tired at all. Was Equius immune to Sloth?

"Nyaaaaaaawn..." Nepeta yawned in a very cat like manner and snuggled more into her slime. "Dun wanna..." she replied lazily, not even opening her eyes.

"Yes, you will," Equius demanded, approaching her with food. Not wanting to be left behind, John quickly scrambled after him. At her Recupracoon, Equius, with John right on his heals, stopped and put a hand on the slimy head, shaking her a little. Almost at the same time, Equius's eyes started to droop, and the tray slouched a bit. "You must wake up and eat, starving is no option."

"Mmmnnnrrr..." Sloth grumbled incoherently and turned away. Equius did not give up trying to shake her, until he nearly fell over. Acting fast, John caught the falling tray and the sweaty shirt of the falling troll, pulling him back up. 

"Er... sorry. Nepeta's only affects those who touch her, but I simply cannot allow her behavior," the blue blooded servant explained wearily. 

"T-that's okay! Here, let me see if I can help!" Making sure Equius could stand enough that he could let go, and still holding the tray of food, John use his now freed hand to carefully put his hand in the print Equius had left on her head, hoping it would be a little less gross and full of sopor. "Um... Nepeta? Would you please eat? I don't think starving yourself will help you sleep better..."

"No. Go 'way..." she grumbled sleepily.

"Really though! Look, you've got Equius all worried about you! If you don't eat, he'll only get more and more worried!" That seemed to have more of an effect, as her eyes cracked open, though in more of a glare.

"I said go 'way." The command was a little less angry than before.

"No! Please, you've got to eat something!"

"Sleep is better!"

"Not if you die and make Equius unhappy!" Nepeta looked past John at the cryptic Equius, watching the exchange.

"...Fine, but you have to feed me. And let my head go." Realizing his hand was still on her head, John quickly withdrew it and smiled.

"I can do that."

"M-Mr. Egbert! I can do that!" Equius jumped in.

"Nah, I can handle it! Besides, it's probably a bad idea if you accidently touch her again. We don't need two self depreciating trolls in the room~" he smiled at Equius. Carefully, he cut up and forked the pancakes into Nepeta's mouth, who barely even chewed before swallowing, all the while feeling the sweaty troll watching him from behind. When the plate was finished, Nepeta rolled over and went back to sleep. Quietly, he handed Equius the tray back. "We should go now, huh?"

"Y-yes. We will leave." With that, the two boys exited the room, to a waiting pair of red guards.

"Go well?" Dave asked, looking at the empty plate.

"Yep! Didn't feel anything!" John smiled happily.

"Good, next one will be a bit more complicated."


	8. Gamzee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um... it's a little short... :T Not much with this yet, but it will be important in the future. If all goes as planned, that is.
> 
> Enjoy~

“If you feel good about it, we’re going to jump straight to the next one. I’d feel better if Equius went in with you, Pride isn’t one to be taken lightly.” Dave stated simply, and John could imagine him flicking a look at the blue blooded troll behind those glasses. Next to him, Equius started sweating again.

“Ah… Yes sir,” Equius nodded and walked off on his own. John bit his lip.

“Is he really that bad? I mean, how much worrying should I be doing here?” John fretted, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing over at the huge door not far from them.

“You could say that. He’s about as far along as Lust, so he’s pretty much lost it, and it’s pretty effective if you get caught in his trap. Not only that, his own personality mingled in there is pretty fucked up on its own. I would recommend doing whatever Equius says, no exceptions. Go in, get out, and try not to get your head smashed in. Capisce?”

“Uh, I guess…” John sighed a bit. He just hoped nothing like Lust happened again. If it smelled as bad as Lust, he was probably going to puke.

“Great. Now Equius just needs to get back here with the food and some equipment.” The group slowly moved over to the Pride door, and not long after, Equius came out of the kitchen looking a bit flustered, followed by a crestfallen brown blood in his wheelchair. When neither guard seemed surprised by the servants’ appearances, he figured there was something he simply didn’t know yet.

“Hold this,” Equius thrust the tray at John, who quickly took it and blinked at the oddly green food and bottle of Faygo. Meanwhile, Equius stuck earplugs in his pointed ears, and then put noise canceling head crushers on over them. He handed out earplugs to Dave and Aradia as well, before pulling out the key to the padlock. John stood close behind the buff troll, gripping the tray so tensely that his knuckles turned white and felt sore when he tried to relax.

Inside, like Eridan’s room, was dark. There was the low rumble of thunder, and a flash. As the door closed, John made out a form on top of a tall platform within the lightning flash. It was a tall, lanky troll from what he could see, with some very large, fluffy hair and tall horns. His eyes glowed softly, a dull yellow that sent a chill down John’s spine. The stare was cold and judging, analyzing the two standing before him.

“You have a lot of nerve bringing a human here, Equius.” The voice was raspy, and seemed to fluxuate in volume between groups of words. There was no way Equius could hear even that booming voice through all that protection, yet he immediately dropped to one knee.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Highblood, but I was asked to have Mr. Egbert help me bring you your breakfast.” John quickly followed suite, kneeling down and holding out the food, bowing his head between his arms and squeezing his eyes shut.

“Still taking orders from that red eyed human and the rust blood, I see. Hm… It seems this human has started to learn his place, though.” There was the slow tap of footsteps as Pride descended down the stairs of his tower. John quivered, fearing what might come next. Equius didn’t speak, simply remained kneeling. The only muscles moving in John’s body were his shaking arms, but he did his best to keep the tray steady. After a long minute of listening to the footsteps, they came to a halt right in front of him. Peeking one eye open, he saw the end of spotted pants and white shoes. The tray was lifted from his hands for inspection, but Equius remained still.

Suddenly, it clattered to the floor spilling the contents everywhere. The loud sound combined with the boom of thunder made John flinch. A foot stomped down on John’s back, forcing him all the way into a laying position of the floor.

“Bow lower, worm,” the troll hissed above him. Clenching his hands, he did his best to keep from shaking and simply laid there until the troll picked up the tray and the remainder of its contents and retreated to his tower. “Leave, and don’t ever bring a human back here again, Equius.”

Equius stood up and left, taking an empty tray that John hadn’t noticed coming in. Looking over his shoulder as the door opened, he saw for a flash the troll’s full face. Disapproving eyes, odd white make-up that reminded John vaguely of a clown, but a really creepy one, and the symbol on his shirt was a deep indigo. As soon as they were in the hall, though, the door slammed shut. John forced on his smiled as those around him removed ear protection.

“Anything?” Aradia asked merrily.

“Nope! He wasn’t that bad either, Dave! You got me scared for nothing~” Dave just shrugged, but John could feel Equius’s eyes on him, before the troll seemed to remember that he had other things to be doing and scurried off.

“Well, we’re still going to end it for the day.” The red eyed guard simply watched the blue blood go, and John had the creeping suspicion that Dave knew that something had gone down in Pride’s room. “Do whatever you want, we have a gate to get watching again so Kanaya and Rose could get back to their things.”

So with that, the three departed for the day.


End file.
